


Romantic Irony

by MonsterBoyf



Category: VIXX
Genre: And is also a lamia, Childbirth, Gen, Godfather Taekwoon, Is this a kid fic?, Jaehwan has Children, Mental Health Issues, Mentioned Infanticide, Minor Character Death, Monsters, Past Abuse, Past Relationship(s), Snakes, Technically an egg hatching fic but, Uh gender and pronouns are weird, road trip fic, tragic backstory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:14:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25125268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MonsterBoyf/pseuds/MonsterBoyf
Summary: Jaehwan has lost almost everything, but Taekwoon is the one to take him down the road to another start."I wondered every day if the world I saw was real, all of this is beautiful...Look at how I’ve changed since meeting you."
Comments: 8
Kudos: 9
Collections: Insa Fic Collab





	Romantic Irony

**Author's Note:**

> Written for "So Romantic". Edited by @grapetaek on twt. 
> 
> This fic absolutely killed me. In the very beginning I was super excited and fixated so I wrote like 5k in one night. Then I procrastinated on the remaining 7k until two days before the due date.
> 
> Lately, I've been writing a lot more dialog heavy pieces. I don't know why, but it made it hard to pick this up and put it down, since you want to keep the flow. I hope I did well by you.
> 
> A WARNING: Keos backstories are both rather tragic. I don't go into serious detail, but infanticide, domestic abuse, and death will be mentioned as they talk.

Jaehwan peeped out the entry of the burrow, seeing stars blotted out by dark rolling clouds. The sand creating the entry was quickly becoming wet, losing its structure. He held his breath as he watched lightning flash across the sky, thunder clapping one, two, five, eight seconds later. His skin was cold, his muscles feeling sluggish. She was asleep beside him though, breathing deep and slow. The sudden cold from the storm wore her down as well. It would be just as hard for her to catch him as it would be for him to quickly escape. He closed his eyes tightly, listening to the thunder and the rain hitting the turbulent ocean. He could do this. He was brave, and even if he wasn’t, they deserved better. His clutch, they deserve more than this burrow, more than the cruel form whose breath Jaehwan could feel on his scales. He took a deep breath, tensing every part of his body. He was here, he was alive, and he had a chance. This was for them. If he couldn’t justify running for himself, he could do it for his babies. He let out the breath, and slipped from their bed. The slide of his tail on the dirt of their burrow was as loud as the thunder for his own ears. He looked back to her sleeping form. Just once. If he were to do it again, he’d never leave. He slid to his clutch, slowly taking them from their nest. They were heavy, full and far in development. He had to be fast if he wanted to make it in time. He silently tucked an egg under each arm, closing his eyes and gathering his strength again. He could do this. He had to do this. 

The fear hit him the hardest when he was there, standing before the exit of their burrow. He wished he could see the stars at that moment. The pitch black sky made him feel so alone, as though no one would ever know he had gathered the strength. What if he didn’t make it? What if the world out there was much more cruel than this burrow? This cave? This dungeon? What if he died trying to get his clutch to safety? Or worse, what if she found him? Brought him back? The blackened sky seemed endless in that moment, ready to swallow him whole in his anxiety. He sparked back to life with the thunder though. The sudden white light flashing before him for just an instant. That had to be him. He had to break through the darkness, as violently as possible. If he set fire to the memories left in the den, good ridance, the rain will wash the fires away. He placed his two eggs in the sand just outside the den. He made his way out of the den for the first time in years. The feeling of the wet sand beneath his body felt so alien now. He wouldn’t cry. No, crying could wait. He gathered his eggs again, kissing each hard opalescent shell softly, before getting down and slithering as fast from the den as his cold body would allow. Let the rain wash away the trail of his body, please.

Taekwoon sighed, falling down into his loveseat. The windows were finally all shut and locked, curtains pulled tightly together. This storm was insane. The walls of his house shook with the wind. All he could hear, even over his radio, was the rain pouring down on the roof. He was used to bad storms. Living near any big body of water did that, but this was the worst he had seen by far. Were he in warmer waters, he would have been concerned it was a typhoon. The weather had assured everyone it wasn’t though, just forecasting a very bad storm and sending out flood warnings. Taekwoon had been laid off work early that day, everyone in town worried about getting home. Taekwoon helped everyone prepare the office, then quickly made his way home himself, the rain having already started by then.

He jumped at a clap of thunder, sounding so close to the house it was frightening. He stood from his chair, rubbing his hands together, then over his face, then on his thighs. His clothes had gotten a little wet from shutting the windows he had left cracked that morning. It had been so hot then, he thought he might die. He much preferred that to this. He stepped into his kitchen, putting his kettle on the heat.

“Shit,” he swore when he saw how bad his hands shook turning the knob. Okay, he needed to calm down. 'He got his mug and tea bag from the cabinet and then bent over, resting his forehead on the counter. He took in deep breaths. He counted up, held, then let out, just like his therapist had taught him. It took until the kettle started whistling for him to calm himself. At least the tremors reduced a little, enough for him to pour a moderately steady cup of tea. You’re fine, Taekwoon. Everything will be okay. He breathed in the steam of his tea, trying to note how it smelt, how it felt on his skin, imagining what it tasted like on his tongue. He knew. He drank the same tea for six years, but this was the other advice that the therapist gave him. Ground yourself, try to use all your senses to keep yourself from spiraling . 

He yelped, ducking and falling to the ground of his kitchen when he heard a bang. Not like thunder. No, like someone was trying to break in or bust the door down. Taekwoon held his arms over his head, cowering in a small ball. And there he stayed, how long, he couldn’t say. He stayed there shaking and fighting startled tears with his back to the counter until his body began to ache from his tensing. There was no second noise, no following crashes or shouts. His house was just as it was before, silent except for the rain. He looked around him before wiping his watery eyes. When he stood, his legs shook, buckled at the knee. He abandoned his mug to go sit down again. He wouldn’t be able to drink it right now anyway. He brought his legs up in the chair, hugging his knees. Oh, the radio was playing. He forgot about it, that he put in his favorite album when he came home. Maybe that’s what the noise was. Yes. His radio speaker’s feedback just glitched. That had to be it. Or maybe a tree fell down outside. 

What if it fell on his house? Was anything broken? The storm didn’t sound any louder and it didn’t feel any colder, but what if he had closed his door? Maybe he closed his doors and a tree fell and broke his window. He could see it, a branch jutting through his bedroom window and soaking everything inside, flooding his bedroom, his sanctuary. Had he closed the door? He swore he left it open that morning, but what if he didn’t? What if it was shut and his room was destroyed without his knowing? He had sat on the floor having a panic attack instead of taking care of it. How irresponsible, how absolutely reckless, how-

Taekwoon stood up, walking quickly to the hallway. His bedroom door was open, and so was the bathroom’s. He peeked in and turned on the light in both, just to prove to himself he was wrong. He began to walk down the hallway to go get his tea, but then he turned right back around, checking again. After turning off the bathroom light with a sigh. He looked at the bedroom door again. He bit his tongue, telling himself over and over to stop it. Everything was fine. His house was fine. He saw it with his own eyes. Twice. He didn’t need to check again.

He checked a third time, just to make sure.

There was a crash this time, and he recognized it. The same noise as when racoons got into the cellar, knocking over boxes and paint cans. He still jumped and braced himself against the wall when he heard it however, looking over at the door to the stairway. He steadied himself, then, while still bracing against the wall, moved to the closet to get a broom. He drew a deep breath as he stood in front of the door. He opened it quickly, turning on the light switch as fast as he could. He heard a gasp from inside, immediately going pale. He wasn’t so sure it was a racoon anymore.

“D-don’t come down here! Please! I-I’ll leave I’m just- I hurt myself falling in here,” a voice cried out to him, sounding far, like it was on the other side of the cellar. Taekwoon tightened his grip on the broom.

“You- you fell in here?”

“Yes, yes I was running and the door fell open under me. Please just let me gather myself and I’ll go.” 

“How badly are you hurt? I have a first aid kit upstairs.” He took a hesitant step down one of the wooden steps, trying to peek into the cellar. There was a shuffling. 

“It’s just some cuts, bruises, you don’t need to help! Please don’t worry yourself with… me.” Taekwoon stood at the bottom of the steps, freezing at what he saw. In the corner of his cellar, hiding among the boxes and water heater, was a man. Well, almost a man. Its bare chest transitioned from smooth skin to dark scales that caught the light of the bulb above. There were no legs, just a huge coiling tail. A tail as long and thick as Taekwoon. It coiled tighter around the stranger, moving in a mesmerizing fashion. Taekwoon could only blink, looking this creature up and down . It looked absolutely terrified, backing away against the wall and trying to appear smaller. Catching his eye, two eggs were under each of its arms. Huge eggs, maybe even bigger than an ostrich. Their shells were dry, unlike the creature. They had a kind of iridescent effect in the low light of the single bulb, like mother of pearl.

“Please.. Please just let me go,” the creature whispered, voice shaking. “I won’t hurt you… I just want to protect my eggs.” Taekwoon drew a breath. He slowly crouched down on the wooden step. His clutch on the broom handle loosened, but he couldn’t seem to entirely drop it. 

“You’re- this is really happening?” he questioned, equally soft. The creature nodded, one hand thumbing over an egg like a mother would do to her newborn. “You’re a snake.” 

“Half-snake,” it corrected, clearing its throat. Taekwoon nodded. 

“Half-snake… and you’re real. You’re in my cellar.” The half-snake nodded, now seeming more uneasy than terrified. “Those are yours?” He gestured with his broom to the eggs, still shimmering with that effect. 

“Yes, and I need to get them as far from here as possible.”

“Ah. Okay.” 

“Where are you taking them?”

“The mountains, as far as possible.”

“So you were going to head to Busan? Or more north?” The snake blinked at him, as though he just started speaking a different language. Okay, it obviously didn’t know about human cities or geography. “You were going to… slither? All that way? Didn’t you say you were hurt?” The half-snake glared, coiling a little tighter.

“I’m not that weak, and this is for my eggs. My wellbeing doesn’t matter.”

“Don’t you want them to have a…” He looked over the snake, not really sure what to say. It was defending its eggs like it raised them, but a father could easily do the same. It was generally shapeless, a little curve at where a normal human’s waist would be, but that was it. Hell, Taekwoon was pretty sure there weren’t even any nipples on it. “A parent? To take care of them?” The half-snake’s expression softened, losing some of its tenseness before adjusting. 

“Of course, but I still have to be willing to sacrifice for them.”

Taekwoon stared at the snake, really looked at it. The shitty bulb hanging from the ceiling only cast a dull yellow glow, but it was enough to study the snake. There were small scales on its cheeks as well; now that his eyes had grown accustomed to the cellar, they seemed more green than black. Its eyes were sharp, almost human, but not quite. It had monolids as well, but the pupils… Those were definitely more snake-like. They seemed so determined, so set. This creature, this parent, was going to save them. It was going to sacrifice itself to save these two eggs under its arms, they were more valuable than its own life. Taekwoon felt something shift, deep in his bones, his soul. Something about this felt fated. It fell into his cellar. It spoke directly to him about its plan and journey. There could be no more obvious sign given to Taekwoon.

“What’s your name?” he asked the creature. 

“Jaehwan,” it answered, blinking up at him as he stood. He held the broom as it was meant to be now, rather than before where he was ready to smack a racoon into next week. 

“My name is Taekwoon, and I’d like you to come upstairs. I have food and things to clean up your injuries.” He tried a small smile, trying to be comforting. “Plus, it’s a lot warmer up there than here.”

Jaehwan looked over him. This human, this absolute stranger and species that had no idea his kind existed, he offered to help him. Not hurt him, not study him, not send him out into the thunder and rain again so soon. Jaehwan looked down at himself, his eggs. Could he really trust him? Even with his current vulnerable point? Who’s to say it wasn’t a trick?

Jaehwan chose the leap of faith. He uncoiled his tail, raising himself up despite his exhausted body. The human looked with wide eyes as he rose to be the same height. Jaehwan adjusted the eggs in his arms. They were starting to go numb from carrying them.

“I accept,” he said solemnly, a serious pout. Taekwoon smiled a little wider. He nodded and turned around, heading back to the stairs. Jaehwan followed after him, scales making an interesting noise as they slid across the stone floors. He stopped at the stairs, looking at them warily. 

“What’s wrong?” the human questioned, looking back to him. He was already halfway up the wooden steps. Jaehwan drew a breath.

“I can do it, I just… I can’t with both of them.”

“I can hold one of them for you.” Jaehwan looked up at him. There was no 'but', no seeming ill intent. The human reached out his arms, ready to take the large agg.

“Oh..” Taekwoon mumbled as the egg was slowly placed in his hands, letting him know it was heavy. He adjusted himself so he could put one arm under the egg, the other wrapping around it. Just like holding a baby. It reminded him a lot of one. It wasn’t as warm or soft, but the weight and the way of holding it was distinctly familiar to Taekwoon. It dazed him a little, holding something like this again, after so long. Jaehwan grabbed onto the railing with his new free hand, while Taekwoon just looked at the shell of life in his arms. It really was opalescent, shimmering once it caught the light. He turned and carefully stepped up the rest of the steps, stopping as soon as he reached the landing. He would never part the parent and its egg. Jaehwan, meanwhile, was struggling up the stairs. It surely couldn’t have been easy with a ten pound egg and no legs or feet to speak of. You could hear how out of breath he was by the time he reached the landing. Taekwoon rubbed over the smooth surface of the egg. 

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, just cold. It’s hard to move like this.” 

“I have plenty of blankets and heat. You can make a nest for them in the living room.”

“I really shouldn’t stay…”

“Then don’t, but at least let me help you, and them,” he added, motioning to the egg in his arms. It didn’t feel as cold to the touch anymore. Jaehwan nodded, taking back his egg. 

Taekwoon led him to the living room, piling the couch with blankets. Jaehwan took them, coiling them in the corner of the couch to make a nest. His eggs were wrapped and separated with another blanket, reminding Taekwoon of how you would prop up a human baby learning to sit. He stood and stared as Jaehwan leaned in, gingerly kissing each egg shell. He faintly heard his whispers to them, saw him stroking the eggs in such a paternal manner. The human gulped, moving to his kitchen. 

"What do you eat? Do you cook?" he asked as he looked at the interior of his refrigerator. 

"Mostly fish, or mice. Anything you can find on the shore or the tide pool." 

"Raw?"

"Mostly." Jaehwan came around the corner, slithering into the kitchen. His tail took up so much space moving around the house. The end hadn't even come into the room yet. Taekwoon pulled the packaged fillets from his fridge, showing them to the snake. He slid forward, taking them from the human. He looked over the packaging. 

"Do you," Jaehwan started to rip through the plastic, holding the rosy meat, "do you need me to cut- oh my god." The half-snake took the fillet and put the whole thing in his mouth. Taekwoon's knees felt a little weak watching his throat bulge as it made its way down. That was definitely at the top of Taekwoon's list for most disturbing sights now. His throat returned to its normal size eventually, once the snake had worked the fillet down. The rest of his tail came into the kitchen, filling up the floor. Taekwoon, wisely, chose to look at that instead. The dark emerald scales catching the light. His tail quickly became thinner at the end, ending in a sharp point. That tip of his tail was flicking. Taekwoon chose to think it was pleasant, like a cat's tail flicking. Following the tail up, it smoothly transitioned into Jaehwan's skin. The change began at his hips. It was weird to look at his chest. There was no belly button, no nipples higher up. He would have seemed very doll-like if not for the scratches and dirt on him, and the obvious snake half of him. Taekwoon moved to pull the first aid kit from the cabinet above the sink. 

"Come sit down."

Jaehwan was set on Taekwoon's loveseat, serpentine tail gathered around Taekwoon, who sat on the floor in front of him. The first aid kit was open beside him, and he had the alcohol bottle and a cotton pad in hand. Jaehwan hissed once it touched his cuts, his whole tail trying to jerk away. Taekwoon hushed him, gently placing a hand on it. The scales were so smooth and soft. It was a divine texture under your fingers. 

"Why were you running away in the middle of the night? In a downpour?" he asked carefully, moving on to the next scratch. The rain was still loud outside, but somehow Taekwoon had forgotten all about it. A different storm had suddenly burst into his night. Jaehwan shifted, staring at Taekwoon's hands. His tongue peeked out to lick his lips, and that was the first time Taekwoon noticed it was forked. 

"It was my only chance." Taekwoon chose not to answer. The moment he needed to say it, the way it was worded, there was clearly an issue. Taekwoon was a stranger, one Jaehwan justly thought would hurt him. He had no place to pry, no place in Jaehwan's life except for a generous stranger. 

"It will take a long time to make it through the mountains. You'll have to avoid a lot of people."

"Are there many people there?"

"It depends on where you plan to go. You live on the shore?" The half-snake nodded, hissing again at the sting on his cuts. "Then yes. Shoreside is always populated, especially north."

"I've never met a human before tonight," Jaehwan said after a long moment of silence. The rain didn't seem as violent now. It was a white noise for their busy minds. 

"I can't say I'm shocked."

"I would see you sometimes, on the water. I was always taught to be scared of you, I think we all were." Taekwoon chuckled dryly. 

"Yeah, we aren't the most hospitable creatures."

"You're hospitable." Taekwoon stopped and looked at him for a moment. His expression was honest, unflinching. Taekwoon sighed and returned to the aid. 

"I'm not a normal human. I haven't been one for some time." 

"I appreciate what you've done for me. Human or not." 

"Don't worry about it. It's just doing what's right… ." Jaehwan relaxed into the love seat, staring up at the ceiling. Taekwoon put bandaids on all of his scrapes. 

"I'd only ever see humans on their boats, or walking on the beach. I think they were couples, holding hands and walking together. I'd always rush to hear if I could get away. We have- had- a hole to enter and leave the den. I'd sit as close to it as possible and listen." He closed his eyes, forked tongue peeping out for a moment again. Taekwoon stared at him on the floor. "Everyone always seemed so happy when they were there. They'd talk about their children, lovers, and just sounded at peace, or at least excited… Everything sounded so good and complete for you humans. I think that's why I listened. I wanted a piece of that. I wanted to be as happy as all of you. Instead of being afraid of humans, I was envious." 

Jaehwan opened his eyes and stared as Taekwoon stood and put away the first aid. He was silent, with that serious pensive expression. Jaehwan slipped from the chair, over to his eggs again. He was always going to hover over them, even when they hatched. The two of them meant too much now. At this point, Jaehwan would much rather lay down his own life than have anything happen to them. They were painful remnants of the past, but they were his future hope as well. If this was a quest he had to embark on, they were both the motivation and the end goal. He knew any other human on the journey wouldn't be as kind as this one. He was reluctant to go so fast. But then again, she could be awake. She could follow. His trail could always still be fresh. His eyebrows knitted together as he caressed an eggshell. She could find him, bring pain to his newfound ally. Anywhere close to her wasn't safe. He should leave before daylight, find somewhere far to hide until the next night. He would go until he ran out of land, or the eggs hatched. He would only settle down for them. They were getting closer and closer to hatching everyday though….

"I'm going to help you." Jaehwan looked to the human, who finally came back to the room. He was standing firm, certain. The snake frowned, turning away from his eggs.

"I can do it on my own."

"I can help you get there faster, and avoid the people on the way." Taekwoon shifted his weight on his feet, suddenly appearing much less sure. He crossed his arms over his chest. "I know I don't need to and I'm just some stranger but… but I'd like to help. You and your children deserve to be safe together." Jaehwan rose up, sliding closer to him. 

"How?" 

"I have a car, and I've been all over. We take the backroads, go at night, we'll be there quick and hopefully unnoticed. The secret of your existence will die with me and you and your babies can be free and happy."

"You're serious?"

"Deathly. You need help, I have the time and resources to do it-" Taekwoon squeaked at arms wrapping around his form, holding him tightly. It was enough almost to make his bones pop. The half-snake was hugging onto him, face in his shoulder and tail coiling around the two of them. He was shockingly strong. 

"Thank you so much..."

Getting ready and going was a quick affair. Taekwoon gathered up a few things, blankets, snacks, water, a change of clothes, and a shirt for Jaehwan. He led the snake out to the car, noting how anxious he seemed once outside. He kept looking around them, holding his eggs close to him. Taekwoon handed him the umbrella once he opened the car door. A little nest for the eggs was made in the backseat, pillows and blankets. Jaehwan allowed Taekwoon to situate them, making sure they were secure even if they couldn’t use the seatbelts. What part of him wasn’t completely in the car was now soaked. It was still pouring, regardless of the much more supernatural force in Taekwoon’s presence. Jaehwan moved to the other side of the car, getting in the passenger seat like Taekwoon instructed. Taekwoon sighed as he got into the driver's seat. He was certainly bone cold and soaked.

“You’re cold blooded, right?” he asked as he turned on the car and turned on the heat. Air quickly blew from the vents. Jaehwan tilted his head. “Meaning you can’t make yourself warm.” He nodded. 

“Yes, and the eggs have to stay warm as well.” He looked back at them with a worried crease between his brows. Taekwoon turned on the windshield wipers as the snake moved to reach back. He fixed the blanket around them, making sure they were cozy. 

“If you’d rather, you can sit back with them.” 

“It’s okay.” Taekwoon pulled out his phone, wiping it on his shirt before opening it and pulling up a map. The furthest place they could go, in the mountains. He was a water snake, or was just better equipped for the shore. He bit his lip, looking at the options. Seoraksan stuck out to him. There was that reserve there, and there were lakes all over the place. Perfect for a water snake trying to avoid people out in nature. It was a five hour drive, probably longer on the worse backroads, and there was no way Taekwoon would be able to stay awake that long tonight. It would be at least a day. He glanced over at the snake next to him. He was meddling with the buttons inside the car. Pulling up the lock, playing with the air conditioning settings, the radio dial, which was off. His expression was soft and curious. A scratch on his cheek was a soft pink, sticking out in contrast to his skin and small cheek scales. Taekwoon sighed and shifted the car to drive, pulling out of his rain slick driveway.

It wasn’t a shock that everything was quiet and undisturbed. All that they met on their drive through the neighborhood was tall street lamps trying to light the street through the rain. Taekwoon’s headlights did a little better.

“I’m taking you to this place up north, Seoraksan. It’s a beach city.”

“I can’t be near people.”

“You won’t have to. There’s this nature reserve. No humans can live there and if you don't go near the main trails you should be okay. I’m sure you can find somewhere to hide in all that forest and mountain.” Jaehwan smiled. 

“Thank you, again.” 

“You don’t have to thank me.” 

“I do. You don’t know how important this is to me.” Taekwoon couldn’t argue with that. He turned on the radio, switching it to playing the CD that was already inside. Jaehwan jumped at the sudden music while Taekwoon just turned it down. Jaehwan relaxed a little, but continued to stare at the stereo.

“You know,” Taekwoon mumbled, “they say music is good for babies in the womb. Do you think they can hear through their shells?” Taekwoon gestured to the backseat with his head, following his phone’s instructions out of his neighborhood’s flooded asphalt. 

“The egg shell is thick. I don't know if they’d be able to.” 

“Do they come out like that? Big with hard shells, I mean. That would have to be hard on the mother, wouldn’t it?” Taekwoon remembered how heavy the eggs were very distinctly. He couldn’t imagine having one of those inside you, let alone two. 

“They were small when they first came out. They get bigger, and their exterior hardens. They're in their late stages now."

"So you expect them to hatch soon?" Jaehwan nodded, looking out the window at the passing houses. It honestly made Taekwoon's skin crawl imagining it, but he forced that down. Birth was disturbing if you focused on all the little details. Surely it wouldn't be a scary thing for Jaehwan, their loyal parent. "Is it- is it like spiders? Where there's lots of babies inside?" Jaehwan giggled. Taekwoon had to smile at himself in return. It was easiest to talk about one's kids when you had no other common ground. It was good it was working. His forked tongue peeped out again for a moment. 

"No. Each egg is only one baby."

"Ah, twins.."

"Mhm."

"Raising kids is hard, I can't imagine two. You'll have your hands full." Jaehwan looked at him with a smile, tail tip flicking. 

"I originally laid six." He laughed at Taekwoon coughing, flushing as he made a left turn. 

“Six?”

“Yes, an average clutch size is about that. We have many children for a better chance at survival. I was very happy to have a large first clutch.” His tongue peeked out again. It made sense, Taekwoon thought. Real snakes have lots of children at once. He remembered once being told that the school in town there was a pet snake that gave birth, and there were twelve tiny garter snakes found in the tank the next morning. They gave the babies to the local pet store, and to a few responsible students. It all seemed to fit pretty well.

“Wait, you laid the eggs?” Jaehwan didn’t seem as shocked as Taekwoon sounded. It had taken the human a moment to buffer and process that was definitely something Jaehwan had said. 

“Yes. Did you think it was the other way around?” Taekwoon blushed, a little embarrassed by his blunder.

“Yes, I’m sorry.” He moved his hands on the steering wheel so he could drive and gesture at the same time. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I just assumed, since you look so much like a human... guy.”

“You don’t carry the children?” Jaehwan asked as innocently as a little kid, head tilted. Taekwoon coughed. 

“No, no definitely not. Human guys would not be able to handle anything like that.” Jaehwan looked back out the windshield, frowning. 

“Interesting…”

“Yeah, we don’t lay eggs so it’s a lot rougher on the mom.” Taekwoon was quick to apologize, “Not to belittle it for you. I’m sure it’s rough that way too.” Jaehwan smiled, putting a hand on Taekwoon’s thigh. He tensed up briefly, holding his breath until the hand left. 

“It’s okay, Taekwoon. It's much easier when you’re only getting something this big out,” he made a circle about the size of a chicken egg with his fingers, “than what I've seen human children grow to.”

“Fair point.” There was a pothole in the road, jostling the car just a little. Jaehwan’s head quickly turned, looking at the back seat. The egg on his side had tipped over, resting against its sibling. He reached back and gently adjusted it. Taekwoon glanced up to the rearview mirror. He could imagine two babies in their place, they would be about the same size anyway. It was cute, imaging two little ones cuddling up to each other on a long car ride. Taekwoon forced himself to concentrate back on the road though. There was a pang in his heart that certainly didn’t need his attention now. The song finally changed, catching Jaehwan's interest. His tail slid back and forth, to the rhythm. 

“What happened to the other eggs?” his tail slowed to a stop, the snake still staring at the stereo. In neon green it read the song and the artist, lighting up the dark car. 

“They died.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. That must have been terrible.” Jaehwan nodded, looking out the window. Taekwoon didn’t live in a very populated region. Once they drove out of his town, it was a lot of country, rice fields. In the middle of the night, it made the darkness seem never-ending, like you were the only person alive. Jaehwan’s hands tucked neatly into his lap. 

“She ate them…” he continued quietly, almost whispering. Taekwoon was scared to ask, unsure how he was supposed to approach this. They barely knew each other, and Taekwoon knew nothing about his culture. “It was going to be our first clutch. I was… thrilled to have my little family. Hold them all close to me…” He made a motion, like he was actually holding a baby to his chest, stroking its back weakly. Taekwoon silently reached over, turning off the happy song playing on the radio. It felt wrong to be hearing it, unlike the rain hitting the windshield and road. Jaehwan put his hands down. 

“Who is she..?” Taekwoon dared to ask. Jaehwan looked down at his lap, picking at scales. 

“My partner, my first as well, obviously…”

“She ate them?” Jaehwan hummed affirmatively.

“They were smaller then, younger. The first was only this big,” he made a circle with his two thumbs and pointer fingers, about the size of a bowl. “We have this tradition, after they get a certain size, you put them up to the light to see inside. We did it with all of them, and all of its siblings were fine. That one though… you could tell it was already…”

“Passed away,” Taekwoon finished. 

“I was distraught. It’s only natural. Even though duds are so common, you never expect it to be one of yours. I refused to let go of it. I kept it in the nest, tried to love it as much as I could even though I already knew it was too late. One morning, I woke up and it was gone from the clutch. I told her in tears and begged her to go out and find it, but she said she was the one that took it. I didn’t have to spend my energy on an egg that was never going to hatch. It was a resource I was wasting. That was the first.”

“You stayed with her after that?” Jaehwan shrugged. He suddenly looked so drained, so aged. 

“What else could I do? I had nowhere else, and I was scared. She knew I was. She used the others to keep me there. That’s what happened to the other three. When I tried to leave the first time…” He didn’t continue, and didn’t need to. Taekwoon understood where he was going. He felt nauseous thinking someone could do that to their own children. Something so human acting so animalistic . You heard of animals eating their own young, but never something human.

“I’m so sorry that happened to you,” Taekwoon mumbled, glancing over to the snake. He followed a raindrop’s trail on the window with his finger tips. 

“So am I, but terrible things happen at times and we’re powerless to stop it. All I can do is take my children far from there and give them a much beautiful world.”

“You still think the world is beautiful? After you went through that?” Taekwoon felt a knot in his throat that refused to be swallowed down. Jaehwan looked at him, staring.

“Of course. It wasn’t the world who hurt me, just a bad lover. Nature will always be beautiful, even in your painful moments.”

“Like the rain…” Taekwoon mumbled. The snake tilted his head curiously. Taekwoon sighed.

“There’s this cliche in human culture, mostly movies and things like that, that when a character is at their lowest point, it rains. When a person or character is in pain, the sky is supposed to break open and pour. Even though that person is suffering, it creates something very beautiful.” Jaehwan smiled softly at Taekwoon, then out at the passing fields. 

“That makes our meeting something beautiful then.” Taekwoon licked his lips. Yeah, that was some way to see it. Taekwoon firmly believed there was no such thing as fate, but life did have a beautiful irony sometimes. Tragically beautiful in most of those few instances, but beautiful and poetic regardless. He could see their meeting as a pleasant irony. Jaehwan found help in the heat of a storm, or maybe in the eye of one. There was no guarantee that this trip or life after would be easy. Taekwoon was just the unexpected calm between two plot points for the snake. They always made the journey to the final destination a beautiful montage in movies. Perhaps it was the same here. 

“I guess so.”

Taekwoon could only make it an hour more before he was close to dozing off at the wheel. It was two am and Jaehwan was already asleep beside him, head hung against the seat belt and body slumping in the seat a little. They made it through a lot of country and small, nameless towns. Earlier in the journey, Taekwoon would point out the lights to Jaehwan, making sure he saw a night glimpse of human life. The suburbs seemed to make him suspicious, but his eyes did light up when Taekwoon pointed out a city that was far in the distance, not anything more than its sparkling lights blotting out the stars. Jaehwan couldn’t imagine living with so much light at all times. Taekwoon joked that he should wait until he heard the noise. Jaehwan just rested his head on his hand with a sigh. Living in that little little seaside den was so quiet and dark, so separate from the outside world. 

Taekwoon finally gave in and pulled into a motel, shutting off his phone that chirped he had made a wrong turn. The car in park, he finally let go of the wheel, putting his head in his hands and rubbing his face. He mumbled to himself, muffled from the snake and eggs sleeping soundly. Having himself together, he reached over to Jaehwan and shook his shoulder. The snake’s head flopped over to the other side, his bangs hiding his eyes.

“Jaehwan.” The snake made a noise as he woke up. He straightened himself, squeaking as he stretched. His tail coiled as he did, tightening up before relaxing and flopping back down onto the floor of the car.

“Are we there?” 

“No, we’re stopping somewhere to sleep.” Jaehwan suddenly seemed more awake. 

“Is anyone going to see me?”

“I don’t think so. Just keep the blanket over your tail while I go get a room.” Jaehwan fixed the  crocheted blanket over his tail, making sure it was covered. He looked up when Taekwoon opened the door and stepped out. 

“Be careful!” Taekwoon gave him a tired smile, assuring he would. He walked into the lobby, asking for a room just for the night. The clerk caught him looking out at Jaehwan, who was checking on his eggs again. 

“Late family night out?” Taekwoon didn’t immediately process, jerking his head and looking away from Jaehwan once he understood. 

“Kind of. I’m just trying to get them where they need to go.” 

“Taxi driver?” he asked as he handed over the key. Taekwoon shrugged, heading for the door. 

“In a way. Goodnight.”

“I’m going to have to carry you in,” Taekwoon spoke as he opened the driver side door again. Jaehwan frowned.

“Why?”

“You can’t really slither in there when he might be looking.” Jaehwan looked down at his lap, letting out a soft ‘oh’. He tensed and squeaked as he felt Taewkoon’s hands slip under his tail and behind his back. 

“Please be careful, I’m kind of heavy-!” he squealed as he was pulled out of the car and Taekwoon stood with the snake in his arms. Well, more of squat. 

“What the fuck,” he grumbled, forcing himself to walk over to the rooms. Jaehwan coiled up his tail, hugging tightly around Taekwoon’s neck. The blanket hid his tail. “How are you this heavy?” Taekwoon asked with his jaw clenched, getting closer to the door. 

“Snakes- we’re very dense,” Jaehwan explained, distracted looking over Taekwoon’s shoulder at the car. His babies were still in the backseat, alone, getting the cold night breeze on them. Taekwoon managed to support Jaehwan with the wall and his leg so he could use a hand to open the door. He explicitly forced his mind to be blank, not consider arms around his neck or someone pressed so close to his chest. He stepped into the room, dropping Jaehwan down on the bed. The blanket fell off, and his tail uncoiled. It took up so much space in the little motel room. “Taekwoon, my eggs…” Jaehwan commented as the human caught his breath, trying to look around him out the door. Taekwoon nodded, going back out to the car. The rain had cleared some time before they reached the motel, helping in making a sleep-inducing silence. Taekwoon would take the cool night wind over the torrential downpour anyday. He closed Jaehwan’s door and opened the back door. 

“Hey buddies,” he mumbled, slipping the blanket out from under them and swaddling the one closest to him in it, taking it out of the backseat. He closed the door to keep its sibling warm. He walked back to the room with the egg hugged to his chest, rubbing it through the blanket like he was soothing a newborn. Jaehwan opened his arms to take it once he came in. Taekwoon kept the blanket but gave the egg to him, heading back out for its sibling. He tried to bundle up everything he had brought with them so there would be no forth trip out to the car. Getting everything, he finally wrapped the blanket around the second sparkling egg. “Come here, kiddo.” When he brought everything in, Jaehwan was already making a place for the two in the middle of the bed. Taekwoon passed off the second egg, dropping everything else into the chair beside the bed. His phone was desperately clinging onto its last bits of charge. Taekwoon hunted down the outlet and plugged in his charger while Jaehwan wrapped the two eggs safely in their blanket. He slid up further on the bed. It was already obvious his tail was going to take up a lot of space.

“Is this another home of yours?” Taekwoon laughed at the innocent question, coming over to fall face first onto the bed. Jaehwan’s tail adjusted to accommodate the space the human took up. 

“It's a motel. You buy a room for however long you need and then leave. It's,” Taekwoon rolled onto his back, looking up at the speckled ceiling, “it's a temporary house, kind of.” Jaehwan made a noise of understanding. He laid down on his side, facing Taekwoon and the eggs. 

“Do humans usually travel so far?”

“Some do. They’ll have jobs that make them travel, or go on vacations.” Taekwoon rolled over, facing the snake. He had big dark eyes and they stared so curiously at Taekwoon anytime he spoke. You could hear the hum of the radiator.

“I see.” 

“Can I ask you a question?” Jaehwan smiled and nodded. His tongue peeked out again, flicking before shooting back into his mouth. 

“Are you scared to be a parent?” Jaehwan didn’t hesitate to shake his head. His hand came down to stroke one of the egg shells. 

“No. I know this is what I've always wanted to do. I’m scared about the future, but I would never be scared of having to take care of them.“ Taekwoon hummed, looking at the eggs and their opalescent sheen. They were so pretty, magical. He reached out and caressed the other egg. A textured surface. 

“Do you have names for them? When they’re born that is?”

“I was thinking of Jiyoung and Hyunjung.”

“I like them.” Taekwoon looked back up at the snake. He smiled a little. “Do you want boys or girls?” Jaehwan giggled to himself, shrugging. 

“I like both. When I had all of my clutch, I would always say it didn’t matter. Now though,” He looked down at his eggs with a tender smile, “I think I’d just like both.”

“I would too. I've always wanted kids.” Taekwoon turned away and got out of the bed, changing into his spare clothes. 

“You have your own mate?” Jaehwan too moved, sitting up. Taekwoon kept his back to the snake. 

“Not anymore.” He pulled his shirt on. “Still, I like children.”

“My old... mate, I don’t think she liked children as much as me.” 

“I think I'd come to the same conclusion.” Taekwoon gathered snacks from the chair, and two waterbottles.

“She wasn’t as excited about my clutch as me. She was better before I laid them,” Jaehwan continued as Taekwoon came back to the bed, sitting opposite to him and dropping the snacks on the bed. “I keep thinking that it’s because of me, because I laid them, that she changed… .”

“You can’t blame yourself for being hurt. She chose to have that family with you, and she chose to hurt you.” Taekwoon handed him a water bottle. “Forget about her. She doesn’t matter anymore.” Jaehwan smiled, accepting the water. He silently drank from it while Taekwoon opened his sleeve of crackers. “You left to escape her, don’t let her stick in your head.” 

“You’re very wise, Taekwoon.” 

“If you say that I might develop an ego,” Taekwoon replied sarcastically, biting into a cracker. Jaehwan giggled again. It was an interesting laugh, a little bit of a hiss to it. 

“I guess I won’t say you’re selfless as well, then.” Taekwoon stared down at the snacks on the mattress, having no retort for that.

“What do you eat?” he blurted out. Jaehwan blinked at him before answering. 

“We’re carnivores. We mostly just eat fish or frogs. Sometimes we would catch crabs. I really like those.” Taekwoon nodded, grabbing a tin and pulling the metal ring so it would crack open. 

“You can try this then.” Jaehwan leaned in, trying to look at the pink contents. 

“What is it?”

“Ham, basically. Really salty ham. Ham means pig,” he explained at Jaehwan’s confused head tilt. He didn’t seem less confused, but he stopped leaning into Taekwoon’s space. The human used the metal lid to cut out a piece, and he handed it to Jaehwan. He held the piece in both hands, tongue flicking out aggressively, smelling it. Taekwoon chuckled at the face he made. “Just try it.” Jaehwan gave him a look, but swallowed it down whole. He hummed, tilting his head as he processed the taste. “How is it?”

“Very odd. The salt reminds me of the ocean.” 

“Not that surprising.” Taekwoon put a little piece on his cracker, munching away. 

“Do humans normally eat things like that?”

“It depends on where you're from, and your own tastes.”

“But you like it?”

“Yes, in moderation. I think you would die of dehydration if you ate the entire thing, but it’s good with other things. Like we put it into a kind of soup.” Jaehwan put his hands out shyly, like a child asking for a second cookie. 

“May I have more?” Taekwoon obliged with a smile. 

They fell asleep on opposite sides of the bed, the eggs separating them. Jaehwan's tail took up much of the bed space. It reached the foot of the bed, coming back around to fit the rest of its length on the bed. Taekwoon felt it brush against him sometimes in his sleep. What he did not know is that he would wake up with it on top of him. It was draped over his chest, the tip right by his ear. That would explain the weight he felt on himself. It took a bit of effort to push it off. Dense indeed. Once off, he turned on his side, looking at the eggs and their parent. Jaehwan breathed deeply, one hand on his egg while the other was tucked under his head. Taekwoon rubbed the other eggshell softly. 

"Are you ready for your new home?" he whispered. He wondered what they would look like once they hatched. Would they already be at a crawling stage? Jaehwan slithered with his body upright, but babies weren't built for standing. Or maybe they didn't move around for a while after hatching. He imagined Jaehwan with a baby on each hip, resting their heads on his collarbone and staring with wide eyes. Forked tongues flicking out at you. It was kind of cute, in a way Taekwoon from the previous morning would have never understood. Completely unimaginable. "I'm going to get all of you there as quick as I can," he promised the still, silent shell. He gave its sibling a little rub as well. Maybe they could feel the warmth of his palm through their shell. He turned to check his phone, not wanting to look at Jaehwan again. It was too domestic of a scene for him. Too on the nose. It was already noon, and they still had three hours to go. Taekwoon was left with an odd hollow feeling thinking about that. Their time together would only at most last twenty-four hours. Jaehwan was captivating though. Taekwoon felt like they were long friends, despite everything. 

The tail returned again, pressing flush up against his back. Taekwoon set down the phone, turning back to the culprit. He smacked the tail softly, calling Jaehwan's name to wake him up. It still impressed him how smooth the scales were. The snake shifted, pouting and hugging onto the egg he had his hand on before. Taekwoon reached over and shoved him, trying to wake him up. The tail tip flicked under his chin. 

"Jaehwan."

"Mm, what?" he asked, eyes still closed and tongue flicking out afterward. 

"It's morning. We have to finish the trip today." Jaehwan made a fussy noise. His tail slipped away from Taekwoon, and then off the bed entirely. His arms stuck out straight and he flexed both his tail and said arms, waking himself up. He opened his bleary eyes up to Taekwoon slowly, in many blinks. "Good morning," he greeted as Jaehwan finally focused. The snake smiled, tail falling to rest on the floor in front of the bed. 

"Good morning!" 

“The kids were good while you were asleep,” Taekwoon joked, pushing himself to sit up. 

“I didn’t know they could act bad,” Jaehwan replied innocently, sliding himself over in the bed so he could kiss each of the eggs, rub his face against them. 

“It's a joke. People usually say it when they sleep with the baby.” Taekwoon stretched before walking to the bathroom. Jaehwan curled his whole body around his eggs, mumbling about how cold it was. That must have been the explanation for the tail crushing Taekwoon. He was warm.

“The air probably shut off in the middle of the night. I didn’t exactly pick the best place.”

After the ordeal of putting Jaehwan back in the car once again, Taekwoon brought the eggs to him. He wanted to sit with them this time, so they were nestled in his seat with him, on his lap. The sky was much clearer than the day before. A few clouds, but there was still the brilliant blue of the sky visible. It was still a bit chilly, but sunny nonetheless. Taekwoon returned the key, ignoring a side remark from the clerk, and got in the driver's seat. Just another three hours and this lucid dream of an experience would end. He pulled up the directions on his phone, and pulled out of the parking lot. 

“I think I’ll miss human beds now," Jaehwan blurted out, with that wistful voice of a little kid on a thoughtful car trip. Taekwoon smiled to himself. 

“Are they that bad at home?”

“We mostly sleep in sand trenches, with any soft things we can find. Abandoned clothes, mostly.”

“That does make shitty motel beds sound pretty good.” 

“Are they not all the same?” 

“Definitely not. Some people spend millions of dollars on beds. There’s all kinds of types as well.”

“Humans have a lot of frivolous things...” Jaehwan pouted thinking about it. Taekwoon shrugged. 

“Yeah, that happens.”

“I feel like we're so simple compared to you… . I lived in a sandy den by the ocean all my life.”

“All the things we have don’t always make us happy though.”

“They don’t?” 

“No. Lots of people are unhappy, or don’t get the same things they need as everyone else.”

“Are you happy?” Taekwoon bit his lip. He didn’t expect to start his day with such an existential question. Was he happy?

“Sometimes yes. I’m happy now, I guess.” Jaehwan nodded, a little smile. 

“I’m happy too. It’s been awhile.” Taekwoon understood that feeling. He almost thought he forgot how to be happy, or at least calm, after all these years. He felt at peace with Jaehwan. The snake rubbed the egg in his lap and asked if Taekwoon could make the music play again. He obliged and played the radio rather than the CD. Jaehwan’s tail flicked along with the pop tune. 

Songs faded in and out for some time, the only sound other than the directions reading out loud. Jaehwan bobbed his head along to the music, tail still flicking along with it. He was content listening and watching the world pass quickly past the window. The world was so large outside of his den, somehow feeling even bigger than the ocean. Probably on the account of it being unknown. Jaehwan had never spent much time out of the water or out of that sandy hovel, even as a snakelet. As soon as he matured, he went off with her. They lived on that beach together for years, and now that Jaehwan considered it, he was very naive at the time. She was his first and only. He didn’t know, or have, anyone else. His people were very isolated, but he suddenly realized how isolated he really felt all that time. He only realized when he was in Taekwoon’s constant good company. He never noticed it before, how much he wanted a friend. Him and his love had good days, more often than the bad, but she was still terrifying. She still hurt him. Her domesticity was two-faced. Taekwoon seemed incapable of doing the same. He apologized at every slip up. He coddled the eggs, even if it was subtly. Jaehwan suddenly felt an odd bitterness, a pain to follow a deep sigh. They would part ways and that would be the end. Jaehwan would be isolated again. He glanced over at the human, wondering if it was possible to ask for this not to be the end. For him to visit Jaehwan after it was all over. He made so much effort taking him to this place though… It might be selfish to ask him to do it again. He was already so generous.

“What?” Taekwoon asked, glancing over at the snake. 

“What?” he responded, snapping out of his thoughts.

“You were staring at me. What are you thinking about?” Jaehwan looked down at his eggs shyly. He rubbed its shell as his forked tongue flicked out briefly. 

“I just am very thankful. I’ll be eternally grateful to you.”

“Don’t make it sound like I’m a hero. I’m just trying to do the right thing by you.”

“I’ve never really had someone do that for me…”

“No?” Jaehwan shook his head, tracing shapes on the egg shell. It felt very brittle. They were so close to hatching. 

“No. I’ve only ever had my family. I wasn’t allowed friends. It’s been a long time since I talked to someone like this."

"Well then…" Taekwoon put a hesitant hand on Jaehwan's shoulder, looking squarely at the road. "I'm glad I could help." Jaehwan smiled at him. 

The world around the car changed the closer they got to their location. They were surrounded by trees, lakes, and streams. Jaehwan kept his forehead to the glass, taking in every detail. He pointed everything out to Taekwoon, unwittingly easing his anxious heart. He was very sweet, naive. He gushed about the environment he now had to live in, one he had little experience in, if at all. One that could easily trick him or eventually kill the optimist. He should be worried rather than Taekwoon. He should be concerned over his survival, but he wasn't. It was charming, and Taekwoon was a little envious. Oh to be an optimist in such a cruel world. Jaehwan's optimism was still ruthless, even if it was simpler than Taekwoon's. That wasn't the only heart-pounding thought trekking through Taekwoon's mind though. He sighed as he turned off the road into the nature reserve's entrance. The sun was already falling, enough so it was below the roof of the canopy. Some leaves had already fallen, but the forest was still dense enough to hide. Taekwoon flexed his hands on the wheel, preparing himself. He pulled into a gravel parking space and parked the car. Jaehwan held his egg close to his chest. 

Jaehwan was allowed to walk, or slither, on his own this time. The reserve was empty except for the four of them, but both Taekwoon and Jaehwan constantly checked over their shoulders and around them as they moved over the mossy grass down a hill into the dense trees. The ground was wet and the mud and wet leaves made a slick soft crunch as Taekwoon walked. Jaehwan's tail wasn't as obtrusive, a mere slide across the forest ground. It was close to sunset, but not enough so that it wasn't still light out. The sun just cast long shadows when it hit them. Taekwoon wrapped the egg he was holding more securely in the blanket, hugging it to his chest as tight as he dared. Jaehwan kept a pace just ahead of him. He kept himself at Taekwoon's height, meaning his tail seemed much longer. He had to be several dozens of centimeters taller than any human man, measured from head to tail tip that is. Jaehwan stopped and Tarkwoon came to a halt with him, looking at him. 

"This the right spot for you?" he asked, heart suddenly in his throat. It was all going so fast and he still hadn't said what he needed to and-

"No. I can hear the water though." Jaehean began to slither on again. Taekwoon let out a breath and followed him. He could see why he was such a rich emerald now. He blended in perfectly with the forest floor. The low-lying shrubs and fallen leaves blended into his dark color. The only giveaway was the light catching his scales. Another hill. Taekwoon glanced back at where they had come from. He could still make out the metal post in front of the parking spots. It wasn't a safe distance, but they still had a way to go. Taekwoon stepped up the hill, offering a hand to Jaehwan to help him. 

"Thank you." You could see the edge of the lake in the distance now, at least a good meter away. Jaehwan did say he was made for water. Taekwoon looked down at the egg, then up, as he felt a little wetness. Drops from the branches above probably. The pair made their way back down, Taekwoon moving carefully to not slip and drop the egg. 

"Jaehwan, I- I'd like to tell you something, now that we've made it this far," Taekwoon stumbled for words, Jaehwan looking back at him with innocent curiosity. 

"What is it?" The forest was so deafening quiet like this. The turn from summer to fall meant there were no frogs left to sing, no lightning bugs twinkling in the depths of the forest. There was the call of the birds, but it was far away with the canopy of the trees. The still water of the lake didn't provide any sound either. It was large, and the water sources that fed into it were far from the bank they were approaching. 

"I'm not- I'm not the kind of selfless hero type you keep implying." Jaehwan truly looked confused now, pouting even a little. 

"You saved our lives."

"That's not.. what I mean. I helped you yes but…" Taekwoon sighed, coming to a stop. Jaehwan kept sliding ahead before he realized, turning around to face him. A soft, petrichor breeze wafted through the forest, ruffling the leaves and the blanket wrapped around the egg. 

"Before you, six years ago, I had a fiancée, or lover, or mate, or whatever you would call it. We lived in a city far away from the house that you fell into and we'd been together for what felt like forever to me." Jaehwan relaxed his pose a little, sitting on his own tail. He listened aptly, hand rubbing his egg. "She was.. sweet, and smart and the most generous soul imaginable. When I looked at her I felt like every little thing in the universe just.. lined up…" Taekwoon stared at his own palm, somehow still remembering hers in his despite the trauma washing over the memories like a dirty brush, blurring them. He remembered, sometimes vividly, but often in broken pieces. "She was a teacher, we both loved little kids, wanted our own."

"What happened?" Taekwoon put his hand on the egg, holding it to his chest again as he turned to the side, looking at the enveloping canopy of the trees. Overpowering evergreens and mighty oaks towered. The sky was finally taking on the slightest of the sunset spectrum, the very horizon beginning to gain a yellow glow. 

"She died, in a crash."

"I'm sorry… ." 

"When you showed up," Taekwoon continued, ignoring Jaehwan; and his eyes stayed skyward bound, like looking at the leaves and needles would reveal some great secret, "I thought that it must be some kind of fate. That it was intentional you fell into my basement. I saw you, and I saw the eggs, and I heard her voice in my head." He scowled, hand coming up to his ear as it faintly came back to him. "I have to help you. She'd want me to help you. I wasn't able to save her, protect her, I guess… We never had that chance, to have that family and make a child happy together. The least, the bare minimum I could do, was help you." Taekwoon finally dropped his eyes from the canopy, looking down at the egg he was so trusted as to carry. "When I went to the kitchen, it was to talk to her. I do it a lot, especially when I'm scared and confused. I didn't know what to do with you, how to help, if I even should. As sure as I'm standing here with you now though, I'm sure that she cried into my very soul that I should help you. It's because of her, or her memory, that I helped. I'm not selfless in it." 

Again, the forest was quiet. A soft breeze fluttering through their clothes and hair. The song of crows and robins. Taekwoon felt so… heavy now that he had addressed it. He finally shared his story with anyone, gave that little piece of himself kept locked up firmly inside his mind with a faulty key only spared to his therapist. Jaehwan has the story now. The sound of his heavy tail sliding across the ground returned. It was soft and quick, ending as soon as it began. He wasn't right before Taekwoon, but rather just a little bit closer. 

"I hope," Jaehwan spoke softly, "she knows that I thank her, both of you." Taekwoon nodded. “You’ve done a great thing for me.”

“Jaehwan-”

“I’ve never really received such kindness, from anyone. Let alone a human and his lover’s... ghost? Spirit?”

“Jaehwan,” Taekwoon cut him short, “your egg.” The snake cocked his head, sliding across the forest floor to him. Taekwoon turned to face him, thumbing over a large crack in the egg. Jaehwan’s eyes went wide.

“It’s hatching!”

“Did I break it? Is it going to be okay?” Taekwoon looked to the other in panic. Jaehwan didn’t look back. His eyes solely focused on his egg, his hands coming to hold it too.

“It’s hatching,” he whispered to himself. The crack spread out. 

“Jaehwan, what do we do?” Taekwoon’s heartbeat could probably be felt through the shell, thumping against the child’s walls. Faintly, there was a hum, a little cry, that emitted from the egg. It woke Jaehwan up from whatever trance he was in. He adjusted the egg in his other arm, supporting it on his hip so he could take the other.

“Put- put the blanket down.” Taekwoon quickly placed it down, spreading it out . Jaehwan’s tail gathered atop of it, coiling up. He placed both eggs in the space he left. They were wrapped up in his tail’s embrace. He got down close, and Taekwoon got onto his knees to join them. Jaehwan took a shaky breath, rubbing his cheeks along the eggshells.

“It’s okay babies. Come out, come out and see the big beautiful world,” he mumbled to them, voice suddenly coming out tearful. Taekwoon felt that thumping energy in his chest, like he had to do something.

“They’re going to be okay, right?” Jaehwan came back up, nodding and wiping his eyes. His hands and face were wet from whatever fluid was leaking from the eggs. 

“Yes, yes I hope so. We just have to encourage them. They-” he hiccuped, obviously trying not to cry, “they just need to feel and hear me.” Taekwoon caught Jaehwan’s hand, looking at his eyes sincerely. 

“Hey, you can do this. You’re going to be the best parent ever for them. You are the best.” Jaehwan smiled at him. It was wobbly and tear-soaked and a little creepy with his fangs, but it was real and sincere. 

“Thank you, Taekwoon. For everything.” Taekwoon smiled back, looking down to the eggs again.

“So we just talk to them?” Jaehwan took his hands, holding them to the eggshell with his own. He moved them together, rubbing the smooth surface.

“It's like a wake-up call. They have to be encouraged out.”

“This is a scary world to be born into.”

“But they have us.” Taekwoon looked at Jaehwan, breathless. He smiled softly back at the human, and squeezed their connected hands.

“You can do it, baby,” Jaehawn assured the egg. They rubbed its sides gently. 

“If you come out soon, you can see the sunset.” 

“It’s a beautiful thing, honey. Everything here is so beautiful…” Taekwoon looked to the second egg, taking a hand away to rub it as well. 

“What about this one? Is it okay?” 

“It should hear us and get the cue. We hatch together.” Taekwoon scooted to be more in front of it, putting both hands on it, and then his forehead. He rubbed in circles as he spoke.

“Hey, come on buddy. We can’t wait to meet you.” Softer, he mumbled right against the shell, “You have the most amazing mommy or daddy waiting for you. He’s very excited to meet you.” This close, he could hear something inside, a faint crooning. Jaehwan was mumbling to his own egg and humming, but Taekwoon could hear inside this one as well. It was ready to meet them as well. On the top, under Taekwoon’s forehead, there was a crack. It was small, but it let out some of that same fluid, wetting his forehead again.

“This one is cracking too,” he told Jaehwan, wiping his head clean. Jaehwan cooed, leaning in to kiss the crack. There was a chip in the other now, a tiny window inside.

“I’m going to have my babies.”

“And they’ll have a happy home,” Taekwoon finished. Jaehwan hiccuped again. He was trying to hug both eggs at once, make sure they both had him. 

“It’s all because of you.”

“You were the one that had the courage to leave that old place. It’s because of you that we met, that they’re here to be born.” 

“You refuse to be praised, don’t you?” They both laughed, emotionally exhausted. Jaehwan picked at the fresh crack, opening it up further. When Taekwoon felt the other, he felt a push against his hand, like a baby kicking in the womb. The crack stretched, as did the opening. Suddenly, just peeping out. 

“Jaehwan, their nose!” He looked over, covering his mouth and laughing behind his hands as a little nose peeked out of the space it made. Little bubbles were formed in the fluid surrounding it. The kid was getting its first breaths of fresh air.

“Chip off a little more,” Jaehwan ordered, still muffled by covering his face. He was crying again, wet eyes shining with the light from the setting sun. Taekwoon did as he was ordered, breaking off more pieces of the shell’s top. You could see more of their face now, facing up at them. More bubbles formed as the child softly called again, a wordless noise, but not a wail. “Yes, yes baby I’m right here. Me and Taek are right here.” Taekwoon felt a little sore in the throat, misty-eyed. Jaehwan had never called him that before, and his tears were contagious. This was a beautiful, once in a lifetime moment Taekwoon was going through. Even if they weren’t his own, he felt so connected. He cared about these babies like they were his own kin. In a last push of strength, the child lifted itself up, just enough for its head to be out of the fluid. It rested its chin on the shell’s edge, so clearly exhausted. It breathed deeply. Its first breaths of air after spending who-knows-how-long in a watery shell. The egg slid over from the child’s weight, now leaning against its sibling. Fluid poured out onto Jaehwan’s tail and the blanket. Jaehwan reached out with shaky hands, hesitating. “Taekwoon, help- help me pull them out.” Taekwoon rolled up his sleeves and the two of them plunged their hands into the egg shell. What remained was warm and slimy. The baby took up most of the space though. They lifted it from under its arms, Jaehwan getting its tail out of the shell once the top half had been lifted up.

Taekwoon stared at the child in his hands, breathless. Its chin was on its chest, eyes closed and still gulping down air. On its head was the faintest bit of black hair, soaked and stuck to its skin. It looked like any normal baby on the top, though with Jaehwan’s lips and nose. The tail was as long as the rest of its body, if not more. Gently, Taekwoon helped it into Jaehwan’s arms, where he cradled it. The sobbing was full now, as he rubbed the slick from its head and rocked his body tenderly. 

“My baby… this is my baby…” Taekwoon reached over and took the newborn’s hand. Despite its exhaustion, its tiny fingers wrapped around his, holding him loosely. In the other hand, Taekwoon grabbed some of his shirt so he could wipe his eyes. “You’re perfect.” Jaehwan kissed its forehead. “So beautiful.” Another kiss. “I love you so much, baby.” Looking back at the other egg, it too had made a hole for itself, little hand pressing up against the edge to open it further. Taekwoon broke off a piece with his free hand. Another adorable little nose coming up and making bubbles in its bath. 

“Come meet your family, kid.” The baby tried to push up, head hitting the remaining top of the shell and cracking it. Taekwoon smiled. “You’re so close. One more time, buddy!” he whispered, rubbing the side. There was a soft fussy noise from the other babe, Jaehwan hushing it and stroking its face. “Your brother or sister is gonna steal all your attention.” Jaehwan laughed through his tears, shaking his head. 

“I have more love for them both than they can take.” Taekwoon looked at him, smiling. Both his and the babies’ scales shone with the orange and red colors of the setting sun. He was soaked, but he was beautiful in a domestic sense. He was a mess, but he was beautiful, despite or because of it. There was a japanese term for it,  _ wabi-sabi _ .

“I can see why.”

The second baby finally surfaced. This one did cry once it emerged. Not the screaming of a human babe, but a soft, quickly dying cry. Taekwoon reached inside the egg, and pulled it out just like its sibling. The hair was lighter, and the scales. It made a noise as Taekwoon gathered its tail from the shell. He hushed it, holding it to his chest as he gathered the tail atop Jaehwan’s. Once he looked down, he realized what he was doing. He was cradling the newborn in one arm, holding it to his side. His shirt was soaked and cold, but the baby held onto it in its tiny fist and Taekwoon was immediately humbled. Nothing in the universe meant as much as the child in that moment, its hold on him. He put his other hand on its round tummy, thumbing over its wet skin. It babbled softly. Taekwoon bit his lip, nodding. 

“Welcome to the world, kiddo. You’re just in time for the sunset.” A hand appeared on top of Taekwoon’s, intertwining their fingers. He looked up, and met eyes with Jaehwan. Their eyes were both red, cheeks soaked. “You have some beautiful kids, Jaehwan.” He smiled, forked tongue flicking out briefly.

“You’d be a great parent, Taekwoon.” Taekwoon drew a deep breath, the image of Jaehwan wobbling behind his tears. 

“You think?”

“I know.” He let go of the human’s hand, breaking off a large piece of the shell and holding it up to him. “Nothing I could do would ever repay what you’ve done for me; but the highest honor I can give you is this. These shell shards are the most valuable thing in the world to us.” He smiled. “I can’t think of anyone who deserves it more.” Taekwoon took the large shard. The opalescence was the same inside as it was outside. Looking at it, Taekwoon didn’t see Jaehwan move until he was hugging the human around the neck. Taekwoon wrapped his arm around him. 

“Thank you, Jaehwan. For everything you’ve shown to me.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Please check out the other lovely folks who participated in the insa collab! Our pieces came out in two waves, so make sure you didn't miss any!
> 
> contact Info:  
> [Tumblr](https://minoru-hayashi.tumblr.com)  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/russ__Ant)  
> [DA](https://www.deviantart.com/rus-ant)  
> [Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.me/russAntri)  
> 


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